Monthly Archives: March 2016

Celebration Friday…celebrating the week.
It seems that every time I reply or comment on a Face Book posting there is a message for me in my response.
Well my dear readers…I told someone this morning who was having trouble finding the right words for their children’s story…”Don’t hunt them. Be still and they will find you.”
As I wrote that reply it finally got my attention. I’ve been having an awful time finding the beginning of one of my stories.
So,in honour of Celebration Friday I am celebrating telling my characters if they want their story written they will have to find me and tell me what happened.
I won’t be hard to find. I’ll be the one with a tea cup in my hand and a nice fat chocolate chip cookie on the saucer.
Have a totally fantastic day whatever day of the week you are reading this.

Winter is here and Christmas is right around the corner. Could there be a more perfect excuse for snuggling under a warm blanket in an oversized chair by the fireplace and reading? One must of course have a hot chocolate or other steaming hot drink within reach.

For me Christmas is all about traditions. My favourite of course is the original Christmas story….the birth of Jesus Christ. Without Him, we wouldn’t even have Christmas.

We all love traditions especially during the Christmas holidays. We put the tree up the same day each year. We have a favourite star or angel for the top.

The reading of a traditional family favourite, especially aloud, is always a wonderful memory for the Christmas season. If you do not yet have one, give yourself a wonderful gift and start now!

It doesn’t matter whether you are in a house full of children or just sitting at home with the dog and cat.

Books can even smell good especially old leather bound editions glued together and bound with catgut.

One of my favourite memories of books is my maternal grandparents’ enormous collection of books at our family cottage on the shores of Lake of Bays near Huntsville, Ontario.

Books are an enormous and ever expanding resource for students and teachers. We can learn the correct spelling of words or help us locate Huntsville, Ontario.

Books have been around for a very long time.

Cave drawings are essentially books drawn by our ancestors to teach their children about family and tribal traditions.

The earliest example of ‘books’ are the cave drawings in Lascaux, southwestern France. They were discovered by 18 year old Marcel Ravidat on September 12, 1940. The drawings have been dated to be just over 17,300 years old. Now that’s an old book!

As authors, we are often asked, “Why do you write” Or, “Why writing and not some other interesting profession?” Because the muse won’t let us do anything else. At least that’s my reason.

The voices in my head won’t shut up. They catch me at all times of the day and night, even interrupting well-deserved rest to entice me. It’s the reason I’m so tired, I think. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. Why? It’s the beating heart inside of me. I live for it. I’ll take the grueling hours of research, though some are enjoyable for sure, and the hand cramps and straining to plot in a logical fashion, if only I can have the freedom of writing in whatever fashion the muse deigns to bless me.

Once that crumb of an idea forms, it’s like lightning has possessed me. Electrified, I am scrawling across the page or typing as fast as possible as the notion comes to fruition, playing out like a movie in my head. Sometimes it’s only a word, a sentence, even a solitary image that compels me. But I crave the freedom that steals upon me as I’m constructing a scene. I can compare it to nothing else in the world, and yet I’ll try. Most artists can relate with how perfect it feels when an idea comes together. And I think a lot of people can relate with their hard work paying off. To me, all I need is a journal or a cheap one-subject notebook. Give me a pen with limitless ink and the ability to write, and I guarantee that something is bound to happen. I can’t predict the moment the muse hits, but when that idea comes? It’s the best sensation in the world. Well…other than finding true love and being in my fiancé’s arms. But, that’s a story for another day.

Writing completes me in many ways. It brings fullness to my life. I get to delve deep into my characters’ lives, even meddle a bit, and learn what makes them tick. I get to learn something new every day, about my characters, myself, and about the worlds my characters live in. I experience their tragedies and their successes. And there’s nothing that satisfies me more than writing the story and giving it a conclusion. It’s always sad to release them, these characters you’ve come to love. But, like children, at some point we have to let them go, allow them to fly free and grow. A finished project always makes me feel good, even if the moment is bittersweet because of the parting.

At the core, writing is both a pain and a pleasure. As in life, there are certain aspects we dread – the blocks that come, as well as editing or rewriting. But, in the midst of the madness, there is one simple truth. Writing is freedom, a way to express ourselves in various ways. I seek to explore the human condition through the journeys my characters take. I live to tell stories because that’s what I do. It’s the only thing I’ve ever imagined myself doing for a career. And if I hadn’t known that as a kid, I think I still would’ve been drawn to it somehow. I might have stumbled across writing during school, perhaps with a project, and the seed would be planted. All it takes is one crumb of an idea, one slice of dialogue or a scene beginning to form in my mind and suddenly I reaffirm the truth.

This is what I want. I write because the muse gives me no choice. That inspiration would still be there, begging for me to take hold of it and fly. If I don’t ignore it, however, I can have a measure of peace. The characters, the setting, the plot – all of them compel me, therefore I tell their stories. In doing so, I find myself. And I am free…

Author Bio

Bestselling multi-genre author of UPON YOUR RETURN and 21 other books. Nominated in the TRR Readers’ Choice Awards for Winter 2015. Poetry winner of the 2015 PnPAuthors Contest. Honorable Mention in the 2014 BTS Red Carpet Book Awards. Finalist and Runner-up in the 2014 MARSocial’s Author of the Year Competition. Honorable mention in the January 2014 Reader’s Choice Award. Liebster Blogger Award for 2013 and 2014. Top 10 Authors on AuthorsDB.com. Winner of the Great One Liners Contest on the Directory of Published Authors.

Marie Lavender lives in the Midwest with her family and three cats. She has been writing for over twenty years. She has more works in progress than she can count on two hands. Since 2010, Marie has published 22 books in the genres of historical romance, contemporary romance, romantic suspense, paranormal romance, fantasy, mystery/thriller, literary fiction and poetry. Her current series are The Heiresses in Love Series, The Magick Series and The Blood at First Sight Series.